Pregame Preview: Canadiens at Capitals (Game #26)

The Canadiens (14-9-2) return to Washington Friday evening to take on the Capitals (12-11-2) exactly one week after their 3-2 victory in the same venue. The game starts at 5:00 pm and can be seen on RDS and TSN-Habs.

This is the second of three meetings between the Habs and Caps this season. Montreal took the first game in the series by jumping out to a 3-0 lead over the Capitals and then hanging on to win despite two goals by Alex Ovechkin. Peter Budaj, who gets the call again Friday, made 25 saves to earn his fourth win in 5 starts this season.

What to Watch:

Andrei Markov picked up 3 assists in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over the Sabres, bringing him up to 17 points on the season, second on the team behind PK Subban. Alex Galchenyuk, who was credited with the game’s opening goal on Wednesday, is also up to 17 points on the season and shows no signs of slowing down in his sophomore year.

With 20 goals in 23 games Alex Ovechkin is tied with St. Louis’ Alex Steen for the league lead. He’s on pace to break his career high of 65 goals, set in the 2007-2008 season.

What’s at Stake:

The Habs are riding a 4-game winning streak heading into Friday’s game, matching their longest of the season. While the Canadiens are hoping to extend their win streak to 5, the Capitals will be trying to snap a 4-game losing streak and should provide the Habs with some stiff competition.

Who’s Out:

Aside from Davis Drewiske (shoulder), the Habs are healthy. Rene Bourque spent last weekend recovering from a lower body injury and has been a healthy scratch since.

The Capitals are without defensemen Jack Hillen (knee) and John Erskine (upper body).

What Else:

The Canadiens have enjoyed their fair share of success against Eastern Conference teams this season, especially against teams from the Metropolitan division. The Habs have an 8-3-1 record against Eastern rivals this year and a 7-1-0 record against the Metro division, their only loss coming against the Rangers as they fell 1-0 despite a tremendous performance by Carey Price in nets.

The Question Mark:

We want to hear from you, if the Habs and Marc Bergevin were in the mood to shop this Black Friday, what type of player should be at the top of their wishlist?

Let us know what you think by sending us your answer on Twitter using the #MTLHockey hashtag, or leave a comment below.

Be sure to tune into the Montreal Hockey Talk Pregame Show an hour before the puck drop and the Post Game Show 5 minutes after the final siren. Join the live conversation by using the #MTLHockey hashtag on Twitter.